North escapes worst of heat

AS the rest of Queensland moves out of a blistering heatwave, Far Northerners accept they’ll be sweating away until March.

Cooktown resident Sam Midgley said days above 30 degrees were normal for her.

“As a local, this sort of heat is what we’re used to,” she said.

“I’m on my day off work, getting lunch at the pub and going fishing.

“When I want to keep cool, we go swimming at Wallaby Creek or Trevathan Falls; both are only about half an hour out of town.”

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Adam Blazak said the Far North region missed out on the extreme heatwave that fell across most of Queensland and parts of the Northern Territory on Monday, due to its trademark humidity.

“It’s very difficult to change the temperature of water and there’s so much of that around the Far North,” he said.

“The central areas of Queensland copped it worst due to an upper level ridge, a bubble of warm air, and it affected Mount Isa to Towns- ville, but avoided it.”

A southerly system is expected to move north and east up the coast starting tomorrow, bringing showers and ending the heatwave.

The system is forecast to reach the Far North by Sunday, with Innisfail expected to receive showers, while Cairns might only get the tail end.

Mr Blazak said showers would be scattered, with one in four likely to involve rainfall of 8mm or above on the weekend.

Cairns has maximum temperatures of 31-32 degrees forecast for the rest of the week. the Far North